In order to eliminate congestion in the center of cities suffering from excessive automobile traffic, current urban policies tend towards the development of public transportation. As a result, large municipalities are using more and more trams, trolley-buses, and metropolitan type vehicles.
Of these vehicles, self-guided tramways on tires are especially advantageous for small or medium size cities. They are capable at least locally of sharing the road with conventional vehicles. They require little infrastructure preparation and can travel on relatively narrow streets. Additionally, they have a much larger capacity than buses, they are fast, and they are not exposed to the problems of city traffic when traveling on their own tracks.
However, they must operate on specially prepared tracks comprising travel surfaces and a guide rail, for example, a central rail. Installing them in an urban center requires a certain amount of work.
To construct them it is generally necessary to close one or more streets for an extended time, as long as it takes to dig a large enough ditch, reroute existing channels, prepare the terrain, pour foundations, build up areas for each element constituting the track, install and connect the various elements, construct the electrical network necessary for supplying current and signals, fill in and grade the areas adjacent to the track, repair the street damaged by the work, manage crossings and signals, etc.
Obviously all this work generates problems with traffic, parking, deliveries, access to businesses, noise, dirt, causing considerable long-term disturbance to residents, trades people, and anyone wishing to use the streets closed due to construction.
Thus, it is in everyone's best interests for the track construction work to be completed in the shortest possible time in order to minimize the difficulties it causes.